If I was your manager and you talked up this expensive proprietary product and it crashed and burned AND made me look bad, you're not going to be sticking around too long.

Your job, everyone's job, is to make your boss look good.

Your boss wants to use up his entire budget, and deliver a working solution as promised. There doesn't have to be any connection between those two. I think that the gpp was proposing that you help chose a proprietary system which would burn up the budget, and that you use you spare time to set up a F/OSS system which would work.

When the proprietary system fails, put the free one on to cover the gap. Now that it's working, it's pretty hard to argue that it can't do the job. Your boss has used the money, he's gotten the kickbacks from the salesmen, he's delivered a solution, you've made him look good. As long as he gets to take credit for everything, you'll be sticking around.

leighklotz writes: "HP announced their 35th anniversary version of the groundbreaking HP-35 calculator on July 11th, and the New York Times featured [reg warning] it in their Circuits section today. Sadly, today was also the day that HP apparently withdrew the product to correct reported manufacturing defects. For calculator geeks, note that it has a big prominent ENTER button and reportedly features good tactile feedback. No news about the recall on HP's website..."

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I'm an econometrician. I live in Juneau, Alaska, and work for the State government. Over the years I've taught economics, driven a cab, sold vegetables at a Farmer's Market, fixed computers, and generally had a wonderful time. My first computer was a SYM-1 [6502.org].